Japan's automakers are stoking R&D investment to meet mounting demand for a staggering array of technologies. Toyota by far outpaces the pack.

Japanese carmaker financials show how the COVID pandemic and the chip shortage continue to challenge them — despite positive fundamentals.

Despite a 42 percent drop in quarterly profit, the automaker lifted its full-year guidance for net income and revenue.

Toyota's positive assessment comes after the U.S. economy shrank for a second-straight quarter and as U.S. companies initiate such belt-tightening measures as precautionary job cuts.